Three Years Later: The Media Landscape After May Tragedies Remains the Same, with Only Slight Progress at the Level of Statistical Error

(Source: Mašina) In the period from May 4 to June 3, 2023, nine print media outlets in Serbia included in the analysis conducted by the Press Council published a total of 2,113 pages about the tragedy at the “Vladislav Ribnikar” elementary school, as well as in (villages of) Dubona and Malo Orašje. Out of the 1,507 pages reviewed, a total of 1,011 violations of the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics were recorded. Journalist and founder of the initiative “For You: #ItMatters,” An Mari Ćurčić, told Mašina that after the May 2023 tragedies, Serbia’s media landscape remained the same, with only minor progress at the level of statistical error.

“In most media outlets (with honorable exceptions), the principles of sensitive reporting as a rule ‘go out the window’ at crisis situations, when it is crucial that the media report responsibly and with special care. This is also evidenced by the way the tragedy in Novi Sad was reported on,” Ćurčić stated.

What is worrying, she says, is that it can no longer be argued that the problem lies in journalists’ possible lack of knowledge.

“Journalists generally know what is permitted and what is not. In addition to the Code and legal regulations, they also have at their disposal, among other things, guidelines such as the Psychological Guidelines for Media Reporting After Crisis Events, issued immediately after the tragedies in Ribnikar, Dubona, and Malo Orašje by the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade.”

According to her, the key problem lies in editorial policies where speed, clicks, and “exclusives” take precedence over ethics, without any consequences.

“That is why, even three years later, we still have a pattern in which reporting on tragic events involves excessive exposure of details, a focus on shock and emotion, and the ruthless violation of the right to dignity and privacy of those involved and/or their family members. We should not forget that the wider community also suffers the consequences of such reporting,” Ćurčić explained.

Instead of contributing to understanding and recovery, she says that many media outlets, in pursuit of clicks, see no problem in a kind of recycling of trauma, thereby retraumatizing both the families of the victims and the broader community over and over again.

“Deepening feelings of helplessness and fear are just some of the devastating consequences of such reporting, for which unfortunately nobody bears responsibility. The primary key problem lies in editorial policies. If you consciously decide that market principles take precedence over ethics, then everything we have been watching and reading for years is ‘simply’ a natural consequence. There is no doubt that we live in times of an extremely harsh media market — in the era of social networks, attention is measured in seconds, while content is valued according to the number of views, clicks, shares, and reactions,” she stated.

How Did the Media Report on the Tragedies in Ribnikar, Dubona, and Malo Orašje?

At the beginning of May 2023, Serbia was shaken by two mass murders that left a deep mark on society as a whole. In those separate attacks, a total of 19 people lost their lives, including nine children under the age of 14, while another eighteen people were injured. The sense of fear, shock, and hopelessness was further intensified by the way part of the media reported on these events. Instead of a responsible approach, sensationalism, the spread of unverified information, and reliance on anonymous sources whose credibility could not be confirmed dominated the coverage.

Particularly problematic was the focus placed on the perpetrators, as well as the publication of alleged statements after their arrest, accompanied by frequent “leaked” information from the investigation. Explicit descriptions and visual depictions of the crimes were also published, further disturbing the public and deepening the collective trauma. Although experts warned that detailed descriptions of violence could encourage its repetition, part of the media ignored those warnings, as well as appeals from journalists’ associations to report with respect for the victims and empathy for their families.

During the reporting on these tragedies, numerous professional and legal standards were violated. Violations were recorded within the provisions of the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics, especially in sections relating to the accuracy of information, journalists’ responsibility, due journalistic care, relations toward sources, and the protection of privacy. Relevant laws were also violated, including the Law on Public Information and Media and the Law on Personal Data Protection.

According to the analysis conducted by the Press Council, in the period from May 4 to June 3, 2023, nine print media outlets in Serbia included in the analysis published a total of 2,113 pages. Although all articles were reviewed in the study, Code violations and media reporting were examined specifically during the first ten days after the tragedy — from May 4 to 13 — and during the last ten days of the monthly framework, from May 25 to June 3. During that period, a total of 1,507 pages of reports on this topic were published in Alo, Blic, Danas, Informer, Kurir, Nova, Politika, Srpski telegraf, and Večernje novosti.

In both observed periods, from May 4 to 13 and from May 25 to June 3, 2023, a total of 1,011 violations of the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics were recorded. The chapter most frequently violated was Journalists’ Responsibility (427 times), followed by Due Journalistic Care (237 times) and Respect for Privacy (205 times). The full Press Council analysis is available here.

Author: A. Đ.